Stranded
by CherieBlosm
Summary: Samara, a 19 year old medical student from Australia lived a relatively normal life. That is, if you don't count the broken relationship with her mother and her missing father. After what she assumed was a freak construction accident, Samara soon finds herself stranded in the world of Naruto. Unfortunately for her, this wasn't just going to be a walk in the park. Itachi/OC
1. Out of Luck

To set some context of where the story is set/characters -

There will be spoilers for those who aren't up to date with the current anime or some chapters of the manga, although not all. There will be language, violence and adult themes.

The story is set somewhere towards the beginning of Naruto Shippuden.  
- Basically, Sasuke is still training with Orochimaru.  
- The entire Akatsuki are still alive.  
- Naruto is back in Konoha after the 2 year time skip.

Although, for the purpose of this story I've decided to make Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and the rest of the Rookie 9 around the ages of 18-19 (majority of them will be 19), depending on who they are.

Samara is 19.

Itachi is 23.

So in short, I made the age gap between the characters exactly the same, I've just altered their ages to make them a little older because it fits in with my story a little better.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter One: Out of Luck**

Rays of glistening sunlight filtered gently through the slightly ajar curtains, a welcoming summer breeze causing the deep, blue silk to billow out against the cream coloured windowsill.

My eyes fluttered open as I yawned, lazily stretching out from under my plush, violet comforter and rolling over to face the wall. Gathering the covers back up, I snuggled deeper into my bed with every intention of returning to the land of slumber.

Sighing contently, I could lie here all day…

"Samara!"

Oh good, mums awake.

Lifting my head slightly, I hauled my deep purple pillow out from under me and slammed it down over my head stubbornly. What does she want from me?

"Samara Brookes, I know you can hear me!" a strained voice bellowed from downstairs.

Woman, please. I'm sure the entirety of our street can hear you.

Not bothering with a response, I pulled the pillow down around my ears. Bark all you want mother, I am _not_ getting out of this bed.

"So help me, Samara. I am coming up there!"

A muffled laugh escaped my throat. She couldn't be serious.

My ears perked at a series of thumps residing from somewhere down the hall. Snapping my eyes open and shoving the pillow to the floor, I pulled myself into a sitting position in one swift movement, covers flying around me in a flurry. Apparently I was wrong, she was serious.

What self-respecting mother of any 19 year old College student still forces their child out of bed in the morning? Honestly, I am quite capable of getting myse-

The intricately carved, wooden door leading to my room flew open at such speed I'm surprised it didn't fly off its hinges and hit me in the face.

Using the hand that wasn't supporting me in my seated position, I attempted to shield my eyes from the onslaught of violating light now streaming into my room. My eyebrows knitted together to form a slight frown as I looked over to where my poor door was now swinging loosely against the wall.

There she was, in all her crossed-armed, foot-tapping fury. She stood rigidly in the archway, her perfectly straightened hair cropped just above her shoulder blades floating around her tanned face in a halo of honey-blonde silk.

Annoyance etched into her cinnamon-brown eyes, she used her perfectly manicured hands to quickly smooth out her crisp, steel-grey pencil skirt and ice-blue blouse. My mother, always one for proper appearances even at…I slid my eyes over to the conveniently placed alarm clock, 7:15 in the morning.

"What?" I shot, looking back over at her dully. "I'm up."

She arched an eyebrow at me and the foot tapping continued at a faster pace.

Sighing loudly I jerked my feet from over the side of the bed and stormed through the doorway and down the stairs, muttering a string of profanities under my breath.

My mother trailed along behind me, her delicate footsteps barely heard as I clumsily barreled into the kitchen, making a straight beeline for the fridge. Man, was I hungry.

"Samara really, there's no need for such language. If you just got up earlier like you're supposed to we wouldn't need to go through this every _single_ morning." My mother's voice chimed from the side as I hauled the stainless-metal fridge door open, effectively blocking her from my vision, along with her heavily lip-glossed pout and expertly shined black pumps.

Divulging myself onto my pressing matters, I managed to block out my mother's nagging voice as she began yet another lecture about responsibility, her shoes clattering against the expensive, polished tile as she paced back and forth along the large kitchen.

What should I have for breakfast? Toast? Cereal?

"Oh, and have you even finished that assignment yet?" she questioned, causing me to stop mid-fridge raid.

Peeping out from behind the fridge door I gazed at my mother with a bored expression,

"No." I replied bluntly, grabbing a pre-packed yoghurt and spoon, I plonked myself into one of the nearby mahogany dining chairs and peeled back the top.

Food, food, food.

My mother ran her hands through her hair and made a noise of exasperation. "You're in first year medicine, you really should start taking it a _little _more seriously if you expect to get into any decent kind of internship after medical- Samara? Samara! Are you even listening?"

I took a spoonful of the yoghurt. Looked over at my mother blandly and opened my mouth slowly, then shoved another spoonful in and looked away.

A smile played on my lips, I could _hear_ her teeth grinding in frustration.

"There's only so much I can do to help –"

Standing abruptly, the chair almost toppled out from behind me. "I don't _need_ your help, mum." I bit out, my open palm slamming against the hard surface of the table. "You don't need to control everything I do. I can do it. And on my own, too." I glared at her shocked expression.

With that, I threw the half-empty contents of my breakfast into the waste bin and stalked off towards the bathroom. Somehow she always managed to ruin my perfectly good appetite.

Locking the bathroom door behind me, I peeled myself out of my pyjamas and twisted the shower taps around harshly, letting the hot water gush onto my skin painfully in an attempt to drown out my thoughts. I knew that would be the end of the conversation, only for tomorrow to end up exactly the same.

When I had first gotten the marks to get into medical school my mother was beaming with pride. Imagine, _her_ daughter following in her very own footsteps to become the next best neurosurgeon in all Australia. I almost felt sorry for all her stuck-up friends, with how much she bragged about it to the other doctors at the clinic.

After washing my hair twice and running it through with conditioner, I lathered on my vanilla-scented body gel and cleansed my face thoroughly with face wash. Stepping out of the shower and onto the cool, tiled floor I grabbed one of the large, fluffy towels from the bench to the side and dried myself off quickly. Wrapping a smaller towel around my damp hair I cautiously clicked open the bathroom door glanced around.

The house was quiet. Peering through the wooden blinds I was relieved to see the sleek, black car missing from our circular driveway. Good, mum's left for work.

Continuing back up the stairs and into my room to finish my morning routine, I gave my face a quick tone and slapped on a small amount of moisturiser. Spraying myself with deodorant and a light spritz of perfume, I pulled on my dark blue slim-jeans and a plain, white t-shirt.

I ran a brush through my damp locks and looked squarely into the floor length mirror. I looked so much like my mother and I _hated _it.

I peered back at myself through long, thick lashes. I had the same sun-kissed bronze skin, slim build and delicate, heart-shaped face. My cheekbones sat high and I had a petite, straight nose. I puckered my full, plump lips in irritation and twirled a strand of my long, wavy, caramel-brown locks. If my mother hadn't played around with her hair so much at the salon, it would have been exactly the _same._

Tilting my head to the side, the only difference between us was the colour of our eyes. I saw my familiar light, green-blue coloured eyes blinking back at me, as opposed to her deeper, brown ones. I'm assuming they came from my father, although I never really knew him. The only memory I ever had of him was a small, black and white photograph with burnt, crumbling edges.

And all that brought back was scorched memories.

I closed my eyes to clear my thoughts, no good every came of feeling sorry for yourself.

Finishing getting ready, I applied a small coat of mascara and ran a touch of colour through my eyebrows. Aside from a light dusting of highlighter to the top of my eyelids, brow bone and cheekbones, I left my skin clear – I hated the feeling of heavy makeup and only really wore it on rare occasions.

I scrunched the ends of my slightly damp hair to create a few extra, loose waves. Shrugging, it would dry soon enough in this summer weather. I hung my black laptop bag over my right shoulder and slung a separate duffel back containing my martial arts gear over my left.

If it's one this my mother hated, it was the fact that I had taken up martial arts.

Not appropriate for a doctor _or_ a lady, I think were her exact words at the time.

A small smile graced my features at the memory, she was so transparent. I trained almost every day after university, much to her dissatisfaction. How will I _ever_ have enough time to study?

Stepping into a pair of black flip-flops, I slipped my phone into my back pocket and shoved my wallet and other necessities in with my laptop. Grabbing my keys from my desk, I was out the door and climbing into my dark blue, two door convertible. It was an unwanted, early birthday present from my mum last year after she insisted I finally give up on my old car from high school. _Apparently_ it was just too dangerous to have out on the roads anymore.

I know what you're thinking, _what a spoilt brat_. But, no.

I didn't want it.

I didn't want _any_ of it.

Material possessions hardly showed the kind of person I was, or who I wanted to be, or how happy I was.

My life was dull and boring. I had always been the perfect student. I did what I was told, when I was told and never questioned those in authority. I was expected to follow in the footsteps of my mother, after all. She was just so _perfect._

My life was set out before me, unraveling so quickly and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Shaking my head of the negative thoughts, I switched on the ignition and the car purred to life smoothly. Pulling swiftly from the driveway, I sped through the estate and out onto the main road, preparing myself for another day of classes.

**xXx**

"Yeah and so anyway, then he told me that I was perfect and that he wants to be with me forever!"

Sitting at one of the small, plastic tables outside my favourite café on campus, I was stuck listening to Chelsea rattle on as she animatedly described her latest date with her long-term boyfriend, Chuck.

I was _supposed_ to be meeting my best friend, Ana.

As we both happened to have an hour break between classes, we caught up for lunch every Monday around one o'clock. I'd gone through primary, middle and high school with her and was delighted to learn she would be studying law and business at the same university with me at the start of the year.

Her parents were both lawyers, so we were kind of in the same boat.

Unfortunately for me, today she had some extra catch-up work to do with her assignment group, which resulted with me running into Chelsea, a girl that had also been in the same year as me at high school although, admittedly, I had never been very close with.

That didn't seem to bother the tall girl however as she came bounding over to me after spotting each other from opposite sides of the coffee shop. Her short, choppy, black bob flying around her shoulders, dark blue eyes dancing happily as she pulled me into a lung-crushing hug. Really, I would have been just as happy with a smile and a wave.

"Sam!" she all but squealed, holding me out at shoulder length to examine me. "It's been _way_ too long, how have you been? God, you've gotten thin. Well, I guess you were always _thin_, but you know what I mean. What's your secret? Oh! Are you on a break too? I'll sit with you!"

So anyway, here I was and after 15 minutes into our accidental lunch, I still hadn't been able to get a single word in. Really, this didn't bother me so much so as my gradually amplifying headache as I sat listening to Chelsea chat gleefully about her fantastic date with Chuck.

Don't get me wrong, Chelsea was obviously a lovely girl, if not for being a little self-involved. I just wasn't particularly overjoyed with hearing about how many parties she's been to in the last week and how many dates she's been on lately with Chuck for the next, I glanced briefly at my phone, 45 minutes. It wasn't because I was jealous or anything.

No. Definitely not.

"I mean, it's so great that he still says things like that after all the years we've been together! I'm so lucky. Oh, were you at that party on the weekend?"

Opening my mouth to reply-

"I didn't see you." She continued. "It was _such_ a drag, the whole night everybody just sat around. They should have more themed parties! You know, like that one just the other week? Did you go to that? Chuck and I went as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, do you want to see a photo? I spent ages perfecting my costume!"

Taking a sip of my latte, I set the cup down steadily on the petite saucer. I should have got a goddamn takeaway.

Or sat at a different coffee shop. _Or_ skipped classes altogether and stayed in bed.

As Chelsea pulled out her sleek, touchscreen tablet to scroll through what I was sure would at least 50 photos from the party, a thunderous vibration caused the ground to shudder. I yelped and lifted my hand in surprise, the contents of my drink spilling out onto the table and the cup shattering against the ground into small pieces of porcelain shards.

"And in this photo we were - Oh, Sam! You spilt your coffee, how did that happen? Don't worry we'll get them to bring you out a new one" Chelsea beamed, standing up to fetch a waiter from inside.

I snapped my head back to her incredulously. "Forget the coffee, what was _that_?"

Chelsea stopped mid-stand, confusion contorting her features. "Huh? What was what?"

Gazing at her for a moment in disbelief, I turned my attention to the towering, stone buildings, the winding oak trees and the open, grassy fields that made up the university campus. Nothing had changed.

The students were continuing their busy bustle through the grounds, some racing to get to class and others strolling along calmly, happily enjoying the summer air. The only people that seemed remotely affected were the few seated at the table next to us, and all they really seemed worried about was the fact the I had spilled my coffee.

Whipping my head back to Chelsea who had now carefully sat back down, I spoke slowly, "you didn't feel that?"

She leant back in her chair, confusion etched onto her features. "Feel what?"

I shook my head, but before I could manage a reply a second vibration ripped through the earth. I clutched the table to steady myself and bolted up from my chair, knocking it over backwards in the process. "That!" I basically yelled.

Chelsea, who was looking around in embarrassment as people began to stare, seemed more concerned with my outburst as opposed to the third crack that convulsed against the ground beneath our feet. "_That!" _I cried again.

When she looked at me in blankly I all but screamed in frustration, "how can you not feel that?!"

I looked around, desperately fighting to keep myself upright; the tremors were becoming so frequent it felt like an earthquake. How is it possible that nobody else has noticed? Couldn't they feel it?

The other students around were regarding me closely, some with amused faces and others just in plain confusion.

Chelsea reached up to touch my arm gently. "Sam, there's nothing there. Are you okay? You look a little pale…er, maybe we should go to the medical centre?" she said uncertainly. Bet she regrets having lunch with me now.

As another shock rocked the earth, I struggled to steady myself against the table, pushing it against the cobblestone pavement and causing Chelsea to yelp and leap up in alarm. I noticed, however, that nothing else seemed to move. Not the other tables or chairs, the trees, the signs. Everything else seemed to stay intact.

Surely tremors this strong would have knocked something over?

What was happening? Was I going crazy?

"No," my voice cracked as I finally managed to answer Chelsea's question. "No." I repeated a little more steadily. "I have to go, sorry. I have to go." I turned on my heel and scrambled along the path, leaving my bags and a stunned Chelsea behind as I dashed through the doors of the closest building.

I wobbled against yet another vigorous tremor and used my hands to latch against the wall as I almost hit the ground against the force. A few students yelped in surprise as I pushed my way through a small crowd.

The people who hadn't noticed my display of panic continued on happily chatting with one another, a few keeping to themselves as they studied quietly by the lounges in the corner of the heavily air-conditioned room.

My attention was drawn quickly as a sharp chime from across the hall notified me of an approaching elevator. Darting over the glazed, slippery floor and into the opening doors of the metal elevator, I hurriedly hit a button on the side, ignoring the angry protests coming from the students who hadn't been quite as quick as me.

If the circumstances had been any different, I probably would have laughed. _Suckers._ However, because I happened to be having a mental breakdown I payed little attention and backed up just as the doors flew shut, leaving me alone, another wave ricocheting through the elevator.

Horror-filled, green eyes blinked up at me through the wall length mirror, a panic-stricken face staring back.

I had to calm down, think logically. I rested my forehead against the cool surface of the mirror and closed my eyes.

Just like that, the vibrations halted and the elevator pulled to a sharp stop, jolting me back slightly.

The floor began to erode, breaking away from underneath my feet until I was left looking down at nothing but vast, open sky beneath me.

Suddenly, everything seemed to move in slow motion. I hovered in mid-air for a few agonizing seconds, feeling my head pound painfully in rhythm with the ticking of a clock as its slowed sound echoed against the walls of the elevator. My breath came out slow and ragged, feeling the thump of my heart as it throbbed heavily against my chest.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

A bewildering light flared around me, dazing me slightly and momentarily rendering me blind, a silent scream rising in my throat as I began to fall painstakingly slow into the open air.

Then, everything seemed to shatter at once.

And suddenly, a not so silent scream erupted from my burning lungs and I began free-falling through the blue sky.

There was no sign of the elevator, or the campus, or the students as I plummeted painfully through the wide-open sky, the cold wind whipping at my stinging skin, howling against my ears and searing my eyes. Coupled with my retching scream, I fought to breathe and see under the harsh conditions of such fast speeds without any of the proper safety equipment.

Craning my neck, I managed to just make out the vastly approaching ground as it came closer and closer, flailing my arms in a poor attempt to slow the process down before-

_Whoosh._

Any remaining air left was pushed from my lungs as I plunged deeply into a pool of water.

I felt warm, at first. Glittering flashes of sunlight radiated throughout the water in a myriad of directions. It would have been somewhat peaceful, really, if not for my crucial need for air at this point in time. I needed to move or else I would drown, but I couldn't find the energy. Or was I just in shock? Move, I told myself.

Move. _Move!_

My hand floated gently in front of my face, a leg kicked from beneath me.

That's it. Slowly, I began to push through the heavy water as I started making my way back up to the tunnel of light that indicated the surface.

I broke the surface, loudly bursting from beneath the water, hearing my own ragged breaths as I tilted my head back above the water and floated. After a minute of gasping for air, I began treading water, swirling myself around in a circle.

A lake. I was literally in the middle of a large, circular lake.

On three of the four sides, loomed a menacing, thick forest of trees. On the side leading to what I assume was the south, was a large, spacious meadow of lush grass. The greenest grass I have ever seen, mind you. Beyond that was, surprise surprise, another thicket of trees.

This side looked slightly less dense however, and if I squinted, I could just make out a small, human-made trailing twining itself through the thicket and leading up and over a small hill of dazzling flowers.

Right, deciding that was probably my best bet, I half-swam, half paddled to the edge of the lake. When it proved shallow enough, I all but crawled out of the glistening water and dragged myself onto the rocky shore. The sharp pebbles stung my bare hands and I was grateful at this moment that I had decided on wearing jeans this morning. However noticing the pain in my feet, I realised my flip-flops had probably not been a great choice in footwear. They must have flown off during the fall.

Then again, free-falling through the sky at 100 miles per hour into the middle of nowhere after a university elevator came apart underneath my feet was not part of my daily plan.

I mean, who knew right?

Oh, the university would be hearing from me after this, believe me. I was going to be writing a _very _opinionated letter.

Ignoring the pain as the rocks dug sharply into me, I flopped over onto my back. Stretching my limbs out I gazed up into the clear sky, the sun blaring into my eyes.

What. Just. Happened?

Sighing, either it was some very bad engineering on the universities part. Or I had gone completely insane.

Either way, this was not helping. Rolling back over and ignoring the fact that I was now covered in dirt and sand, I shakily got to my feet. Sluggishly making my way over the shore, I only needed to walk a small distance before the sparse patches of grass became more prominent and I found myself standing in the large meadow. The warm breeze tickling my nose and playfully manipulating my hair to dance around my face, I could make out a small tune as the birds sung from the trees that cast cool shadows over the open, lush area.

As I began trudging along, I decided jeans probably weren't all that great after all as they began to feel heavy from coming into contact with the water. Still, looking on the bright side, at least my white shirt hadn't become see-through and, oh!

My phone!

I whipped my hand into my back pocked and pulled the small phone out hopefully. Only then, noting glumly that it was in fact dead. Copious amounts of salt water would do that to a phone, the poor thing didn't stand a chance.

Arriving at the slightly muddy path that happened to be absolutely littered with leaf-foliage and slime, leading up to a less than inviting forest, I grimaced.

Really, this was not my day.

However, where there was a man-made path, common sense would dictate that people would follow. And where there were people, there would no doubt be a working phone.

And maybe, a hot shower.

**xXx**

Just when I was thinking I've hand more than enough surprised to last me a lifetime, an explosion the size of 10 university campus's put together went off not more than 400 metres in front of me.

After the estimated five minutes or so it took me gathering enough courage to step foot in the forest in the first place, I had only ended up taking a good ten steps before the explosion erupted, sending me careening backwards and, evidently, back _out_ of the forest.

I landed flat on my back in the exact same spot where I had just stood trying to convince myself that _no_, heading into the forest wouldn't hurt me and that _yes_, I was just being a baby.

Apparently, I was completely wrong. Again.

I will be taking dual note of this in the future and instead of plucking up any kind of courage, will instead be turning by heel and bolting in the opposite direction, thank you very much.

Feeling the metallic taste of blood fill my mouth, I hauled myself to the side and coughed up a small portion of sticky, red liquid. Not good.

Wiping the blood away with the back of my hand I wheezed, trying to slow my breathing in an attempt to force the air back into my lungs as my unexpected meeting with the ground caused it to be knocked out of me for about the 100th time in the last 20 minutes.

Ears ringing from the sound of the explosion, I checked each ear for signs of trauma. Clicking with my fingers, I noted I could still pick up sound in each ear and there were no traces of blood. Feeling lucky – an explosion like that usually would have rendered anyone with some major damage to their eardrums – I struggled to bring myself to my feet. Limping slightly, I set off back down the path and into the forest for the second time.

In hindsight, probably, it would have been smart to _not_ walk in the direction of any big explosions, but this was the 21st century and explosions didn't just happen without a reason.

Hobbling down the path, I cautiously hid myself behind each tree as I neared a small clearing, noticing a few small flames dancing brightly as they licked the shrub surrounding the entrance.

Crouched low on my hands and the back of my heels, I probably looked like a bit of an idiot. However, after the events so far I would not be taking any chances.

Hearing a string of voices, I jumped up suddenly. Only paying a small amount of attention to the sting in my side, my face split in a broad grin.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I began loudly, relief flooding through me.

Without making any further attempt to conceal myself, I propelled through the dense trees and into the clearing. People! Who could they be? Construction workers? Explosive specialists, maybe? Who car-

Stopping dead in my tracks, I _had_ found people. Two, in fact.

One I had never seen before, however judging from the ugly snarl he adorned along with two menacing swords clutched in each of his grubby hands, that really wasn't such a bad thing. And one I happened to be _very _familiar with.

Unfortunately due to my not-so-inconspicuous entrance, they had now both turned their attention to me. The big one with the swords openly glowering, giving a grunt of irritation. The other, half regarding me with a blank look.

Now, let's just keep in mind that I've never actually really payed much attention to the anime Naruto. Yes, you heard me right. _Naruto._The anime.

The made-up, television series.

I knew of the basic plot line, a couple of spoilers here and there and the main characters. And _yes_, I did watch it occasionally on T.V if I happened to find it while flicking through the channels.

However, most of my knowledge came from the insistent chatter of a couple of my friends back in high school. Quite simply put, they were obsessed and so I ended up having to listen to the two of them discussing every single little event that happened throughout the anime. As you can probably tell, I was never really that fussed over it.

So, imagine my surprise when I came face to face with none other than the infamous-

"Itachi…" I whispered.

He tilted his head and his gaze landed squarely on mine.

"Itachi. Uchiha." I stared, my mouth hanging open.

It was then that I realised that this was _not_ in fact the 21st Century and that this was _not_ in fact Australia.

And it was then that I realised I was most definitely out of luck, because if I failed to grab the Uchiha's full attention a couple of seconds prior, I most certainly had it now.


	2. Captured

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto

**Chapter Two: Captured**

There was a strong silence surrounding the small clearing, the only apparent noise drifting lightly from the burnt ground as the faint crackling of fire gradually ate through the remaining plants.

Smoke clogged my senses as it wafted steadily into the air around me, blurring my vision and causing my eyes to water terribly. I was exhausted, absolutely fatigued and aching from head to toe.

Let me tell you, I was not exactly having the best day.

I couldn't help but stare openly into the red-hot gaze of Itachi as he surveyed me carefully from his position in the sparse opening. It really wasn't the greatest of ideas to voice his name out loud, considering he probably had no idea who I was.

My shoulders dropped slightly, I've probably just caused myself a whole other world of trouble. Really though, what would you have done in my situation?

I mean, I was currently in the middle of a staring match with none other than Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi. Fucking. Uchiha.

The made up character from an anime series.

I was still a little hazy on the details of how exactly I had come to be in this situation, elevator floors didn't usually break away to lead into an alternate, fictional universe…did they?

Oh lord, I really have lost it.

The large, unfamiliar male looked impatiently between both myself and Itachi, then lifting one of his two swords, I watched as it glinted brightly in the overhead sunlight as he thrust it angrily in my direction. "What the hell is this?" he ground out from behind his teeth roughly.

Before he was dignified with a response, however, a large form began making its way through the trees from the opposite side of the clearing. Squinting, I could just make out the approaching form as he stepped completely out of the shadows.

He was big. Very, _very_ big.

…and blue.

…with gills.

…and did I mention the incredibly daunting sword he had slung carelessly over his ridiculously broad shoulder?

Surprised at my own knowledge, I identified him quickly as none other than Kisame Hoshigaki, whose beady eyes landed straight on me.

"She knows you, Itachi?" he asked, amused by my frightened expression. Was it normal to have such good hearing? Then again, nothing about this was _normal._

Itachi didn't bother with a reply as his partner strolled leisurely to his side, making no attempt to hide the grin as it came to slowly stretch across his blue features while his eyes moved along the length of my slightly shaking body.

Damn it, ninja are scary.

"What the fuck do you think this is, huh?! Our fight is far from finished, Akatsuki owes my corporation money and I will _not_ stand here a minute longer empty handed. You think I will be fooled by this trick? Has your organisation sunk so low it needs the help of a _woman _to distract its opponents? How pathetic!" snarled the grungy man to my right, again jabbing his sword in my general direction.

And apprently very rude. What the hell had I done?

"Scum like you have no right brandishing Akatuski's name, _Hisashi Sato_." Kisame growled, spitting out Hisashi's name as if it tasted foul against his tongue. Lifting his wide, blue hand to point directly at the man he was addressing, he spoke dangerously low, a venomous tone underlying his sharp whisper. "You've got a lot of nerve showing your face so soon after sending that ambush to our base in Getsugakure."

Right, well. It seems my presence has been momentarily forgotten. Harbouring the grand idea that I may be able to sneak away undetected, I prepared myself to steadily shuffle backwards into the forest. Before I had even made a move, however, Itachi's eyes flickered over to me and I froze, blinking back at him like a deer caught in headlights.

"You people left me with no alternative." Hisashi defended hotly. "My corporation does not take betrayal light-"

"_Your_ corporation," Itachi cut in smoothly, casting his emotionless gaze back on Hisashi before continuing, "Were the ones who failed to uphold your end of the bargain."

"We had a deal!" Hisashi insisted, almost desperately.

"To which the obligations were broken when you failed to provide the correct information."

Hisashi seemed to splutter over his own words in disbelief at Itachi's finalising statement. I couldn't help but chuckle lightly to myself as Hisashi's face turned comically purple with rage.

Big mistake.

All eyes turned swiftly on me and before I could register what exactly had happened, Hisashi's sword incapacitated the tree located directly next to my head.

I gave a short shriek of alarm and toppled over sideways, landing painfully on my side. Looking up, I spotted the sharp metal sticking out from the tree I had previously been leaning up against. Clearly, this man could not take a joke.

"What's Akatsuki doing employing little whores anyway?" Hisashi bit out venomously, seemingly disappointed he had missed target.

"What did you call me, asshole?" I seethed angrily from my sprawled position in the dirt.

He looked at me with a satisfied smirk, "you heard me, _whore_."

Adrenalin coursing through me, I scrambled to my feet clumsily, aiming to tell Hisashi exactly _where_ he could stick that sword of his, when Kisame beat me to the punch.

"You think _she _is with Akatsuki?" he said almost disbelievingly, throwing his head back and letting out a sharp bark of a laugh before becoming deadly serious. "We do not associate our name with such wastes of space, something you would do well to remember before making such false accusations, _Hisashi._"

Delightful fellow this one, isn't he?

Directing my slowly increasing anger at the blue giant, I pointed my finger at Kisame angrily and growled. "You're one to talk, fish boy!"

Kisame's eyes almost popped from his head as he did a double take, turning to me incredulously. "Fish boy?! I am a **SHARK**."

Snickering, I was about to throw yet another insult before a booming voice cut my fun short.

"ENOUGH!" Hisashi roared. "Do not think this distraction is going to cause me to forget about the money you owe us. Deal or not, I will not be happy until I receive my payment."

"Kisame."

Fish boy shot me one last glare before turning his attention begrudgingly back to Itachi.

"We have lost more than enough travel time."

A slow, scary grin began to replace Kisame's previous scowl. "I'd be happy to remove the problem," he offered, looking to Itachi for permission and drawing his sword from behind his shoulder.

At Itachi's short nod of approval, Kisame lunged himself at Hisashi and they were both thrust into the surrounding forest so fast my eyes barely had a chance to keep up, leaving both me and Itachi to stare at each other for a few seconds before I hastily broke eye contact.

There would be no weird hypnotising crap used on me today, no thank you.

After a slight pause, I gave a nervous laugh and began to step back slowly. "Well then, I'll let you get back to your busine-ACK!"

My back hit a tree painfully as a pale hand curled firmly around my own tanned neck, almost succeeding in cutting my air supply completely off.

"You will tell me what you know." I heard the monotonous drawl of Itachi, his hot breath fanning out against my face.

Grasping at his larger hand with my two smaller ones in an attempt to pry it from my person, the soles of my bare feet scraped against the middle of the tree I now found myself harshly pressed up against as I struggled to find some kind of footing.

My eyes widened in horror as they met familiar, crimson ones. Black dots danced around my vision as I slowly found myself slipping from consciousness.

Suddenly, the hand disappeared and I was dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Gritting my teeth angrily, I looked up at Itachi who now stood over me, and rubbed gingerly at the red marks forming around my neck. They were sure to leave a nice, dark bruise.

"What the hell?" I croaked out, still attempting to wheeze back in as much air as my lungs could take.

Squatting down, Itachi looked at me with that familiar blank look. "You will tell me who you are and what you know." He repeated slowly, sounding less than pleased at having to do so.

Suddenly, the floor become abundantly more interesting than this raging psycho and I found my gaze trained stubbornly on the very ground below my painfully dropped body.

A kunai pressed harshly to my throat when I failed to respond, Itachi gripping the back of my head and forcing my eyes to look back up at him.

"Judging by your reaction to both myself and Kisame, you are no stranger to who we are. You are going to tell me the extent of your knowledge and how you came across it and your life may be spared." He left no room for negotiation.

Grunting, I clenched my teeth.

How exactly do you explain that you were, in fact, from an entirely different world and that said world had, in fact, created this entire world as a popular anime series and that, in fact, _thousands_ of people knew all of their deepest, darkest secrets? Somehow, I don't think that would exactly do me any favours at this point.

"I suggest you start talking." His smooth voice came again, cutting me out of my scrambled thoughts. I opened my mouth, only to close it again just as quickly. What was I _supposed_ to say?

His grip on the back of my head suddenly became much firmer, the kunai pressing into my neck so harshly I felt a small dribble of warm liquid spill down onto my chest.

"Stop, stop! I just do, I don't know how!" I wept desperately, raising my hands above my head in defense, which was actually a lot harder than it first thought, considering I was lying face down on the ground.

The grip of the kunai against my bare skin relaxed just enough so that I could gulp down some much needed air.

"Your chakra is foreign and unusual. On top of that, you fell from an open portal in the sky. Where are you from? It would be in your best interests to not continue this façade." Itachi threatened.

I froze, he saw that?

"Portal?" I questioned indignantly, glaring back up at my assaulter. Temper getting the best of me, I slammed my hands back down in the dirt. I was in no mood to be treated like a doormat after the day I've had. "That wasn't a goddamn portal, that was just an elevator you clan-murdering psycho-"

**Slam.**

Andddd we're back to the tree. Only this time, I was hauled up by my shirt, the kunai pressed back just as harshly into my poor neck. Itachi's gaze darkened significantly, his next question stopped short by a dark chuckle.

From behind Itachi, Kisame emerged slowly back out from the dense forest, observing the scene in front of him with mild interest.

Returning to his calm nature, Itachi tilted his head to look back at his partner.

"Hisashi?" he questioned, not relinquishing any kind of grip on the kunai that was still held dangerously against my throat.

Kisame faltered, letting a look of rage momentarily slip onto the features of his shark-like face. "The slippery thief teleported just before the border. Leader isn't going to be happy that we let him survive." He answered coldly, almost sighing with irritation.

Itachi seemed to consider this, watching Kisame for a brief moment as he let the information set in.

"We will be taking this woman back to headquarters with us."

"What?!" I questioned bluntly, eyes growing as wide as saucers and feet pounding against the bark of the thick tree.

Kisame raised an eyebrow in question of his own as he looked me over.

"She knows more about Akatsuki than she is letting on. It would be unwise to let her go without knowing the extent of her knowledge." Was all Itachi offered in reasoning.

A slight 'hmmm' noise escaped Kisame's throat as he cautiously made his way closer to where we stood. Well, to where _Itachi _stood and to where I was still shoved up against a tree, feet now dangling about half a metre from the actual ground.

Leaning in, he examined me closely. "Strange chakra, too. Who is she?"

Itachi glanced back at me, his Sharingan beginning to spin rapidly.

I could only make out a dull mumble as his words blended together, the world starting to blur around me in a mix of contrasting colours.

"Fucking ninjas…" I slurred, barely catching the furious retaliation from Kisame as I nodded off gradually, my head lolling to the side.

Eyes dragging down slowly, I made one last weak attempt at slapping the kunai from my neck before blacking out completely.

**xXx**

Wind surged gently around me, my hair and clothes lightly flapping against the chilled breeze as I seemed to move up and down in a steady rhythm. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking directly into the material of a black and red Akatsuki robe.

Akatsuki? Had I fallen asleep watching Naruto?

My mind reeled, the recent events flashing rapidly through my memory. Akatsuki!

Mum, university, earthquake, elevator.

Lake, forest, Hisashi, Itachi, Kisame, Sharingan.

I groaned. I felt dazed and disorientated and my head was pulsing painfully, feeling a steady headache form quickly behind my eyes. Why was my head pounding?

Starting suddenly, I used my hands to push myself against the clouded robe, realising that everything was in fact upside down.

Taking in my surroundings with horrified, green eyes, I began to comprehend my situation. I had been carelessly and roughly slung over the back of someone's shoulder. Judging by the broadness, it was most likely Kisame's and I _sincerely_ doubt he had forgotten my 'Fish Boy' comment, despite how short a fish's memory was rumoured to be.

Fantastic, this explained why I had ended up with such an intense headache, the blood has probably rushed straight to my skull.

The sky was a darkened amber, indicating that it was almost nightfall. I had been out for most of the day.

Casting my eyes back down, I froze, noticing just exactly how much distance was between me and the ground. It couldn't have been less than five metres, and I did _not_ travel well in high situations. The fact that we just so happened to be moving faster than I deemed humanly possible really didn't help the increasing feeling of unease beginning to build in my gut. As the trees continued to whip past my vision in blurs, I began to squirm.

"Keep still." Kisame grunted, adjusting me roughly so that I sat farther up his shoulder.

As he sounded less than thrilled at the fact that he had to be the one to carry me, I decided it would probably in my best interests to oblige, considering I was very, _very_ high from the ground.

Keep still. Okay, I could do that.

After about five minutes of hanging motionlessly, I thought I was doing pretty damn good job. That is, until I looked over to my right. There, sitting right next to me, was Kisame's stupidly large weapon.

I gave an involuntarily, piercing shriek of utter panic and began kicking and flailing my limbs around in a frenzy. What was _wrong_ with them!? What if I happened to accidentally roll onto that thing!?

"Help, somebody help! I'm being kidnapped by a psychotic ninja and an overgrown fish!" I wailed loudly.

Kisame let out a long, frustrated growl and threw me from over his shoulder, letting me tumble through the air to the vastly approaching ground below.

Inches before my face made contact, said psycho caught me over his own shoulder. Concluding this wasn't much better than my previous position, purely because Itachi's shoulder was significantly smaller than Kisame's, I began to pound my open-palms loudly on Itachi's back.

"GET. AWAY. FRO- Oof!"

Releasing his grip around my waist, he let me roll from his shoulder and drop painfully to the forest floor. True, probably not my best choice of words, but it proved somewhat effective. Seizing my opportunity, I bolted to my feet and made a dash in whatever direction I happened to be facing at the time.

Unfortunately, I had barely taken more than five steps before Itachi materialised in front of me, hands by his sides and the same, blank expression drawn upon his face.

Pulling myself to a quick halt, I managed to skid to a stop centimetres from his face. I glared at him hotly, rocking back on my heels slightly to create some distance, and received a hardened gaze in return.

"I suggest you do not try and escape, the consequences will not be to your liking"

Kisame thumped loudly as he landed on the ground behind me. "You're walking a thin line, girl. Next time I'll cut your legs off at the knees." He threatened, playing with the hilt of Samehada as it sat dangerously on his back.

Looking around in an attempt to think of a response that wouldn't result in my legs being removed from my person, I noticed the forest had become much sparser and if I squinted, I could just make out the sparkling shores of the ocean through the trees to my right.

"Where are you going?" I questioned suddenly.

"_We_," Itachi corrected, to which I shot him a dirty look, "Are headed to the Akatsuki headquarters."

"I think you've mentioned that once or twice." I deadpanned sarcastically, to which I received a less than pleased look in return. "Where exactly _is _Akatsuki headquarters?"

"That information is unnecessary." Was the elaborate reply I received from the Uchiha genius.

Opening my mouth, I was just about to point out that he was less than helpful, when I was grabbed roughly by the shirt and thrown in the direction of Kisame.

My back hitting hard against his front, I looked up into Kisame's pointy grin before he hauled me back up and over his shoulder.

"Get your hands off me, you stupid fish!" I screamed, repeating my flailing actions from just before.

"Be quiet. You will not be warned again." Was all Itachi said from up ahead before we leapt back into the trees and continued along the uncharted path, to what I was certain, would be my death.


	3. Hatching a Plan

I would like to extent a big thanks to both **Shadows4Twilight** and ** evil . mastermind no. 1** for their kind reviews!

As I've warned before, there will be a few spoilers contained within this chapter.

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter Three: Hatching a Plan**

It had grown long into nightfall before there was any indication of stopping for the night.

We had been travelling for hours on end without taking a single break and for the most part, I had complied with Itachi's order and kept my mouth firmly shut. I shouldn't be complaining, really, as I hadn't actually had to walk any of the distance. However being suspended upside-down over Kisame's less than comfortable shoulder was not my idea of a good time.

On top of my aching back, my head felt like it was going to split in half and the injuries I had received up until now were starting to take their toll.

The sun had well and truly disappeared and the world had been cast in a shadow of darkness. We had even continued travelling by night for what seemed like another hour or two until Itachi had made the decision to set up camp under a particular thick set of trees.

I swear, we were still travelling through the _exact_ forest I now greatly regretted venturing into at the start of all of this. Realistically, we could be anywhere. The scenery had barely changed over the entire course of travel and we hadn't come across any towns or significant land marks. Unless the entire Naruto world just so happened to be made up of one large forest – which I highly doubted – the thought now dawned on me suddenly that they had probably planned to avoid them on purpose.

I suspected that I had drifted off a couple of times during the journey, although it felt like every time I had even come close to the thought of sleep, Kisame would jerk in a sudden movement that would jolt me distressfully from my respite. I wasn't sure if he was doing it to on purpose, but if he was, I swear he was going to be fish food.

The minute we stopped at the area Itachi deemed suitable, Kisame had me thrown off his shoulder so fast I barely had time to brace myself before coming face to face with the ground, hard. He completely ignored my grunt of pain and moved to begin collecting small pieces of wood for what I assumed would be used to create a fire.

"Oi fish for brains!" I yelled fiercely as I gingerly rubbed my throbbing nose. "I could have made this journey a whole hell of a lot more painful! You should count your blessings I was so quiet, considering I had blood rushing to my head for the last few hours. My brain cells are probably fried!"

He stopped in his wood collecting process and turned to shoot a glare at me. "What brain cells?" he snapped coldly.

I rose hotly to my feet, about to retaliate when Itachi stepped smoothly between us. "Kisame, we will need a fire." He stated, not bothering to even glance in my direction.

Kisame grumbled angrily and continued picking around the ground for suitable pieces of wood.

As the two set up camp, I plonked myself back on the ground and leant my aching body up against a tree. Watching angrily, I began to device a rather cunning plan.

A slow smile began to tug at the corners of my mouth, the Akatsuki had no idea what they were in for.

**xXx**

The full moon sat high in the inky pools of the night sky, the fire burning dully in the background, illuminating a large glow throughout our temporary campsite. I snorted, it wasn't much, just a couple of logs thrown carelessly around the fire to be used as makeshift seats by both Kisame and Itachi. Grimacing, I guess they planned to sleep on the ground. How comfortable.

My stomach growled loudly at the smell wafting from the metal pot now brewing hotly over the dancing flames. I hope they at least had the decency to feed me. I huddled closer into myself, as grateful as I was for the warmth emitting steadily from the mesmerising fire, I found myself seated much too far away to actually enjoy it properly. Kisame had landed himself on the log located about a metre and a half in front of me, his back turned. Itachi however, chose to sit on the opposite side of the fire, probably so he could keep an eye on me as I sat outside their little circle, pressed up against the bark of my tree and refusing to climb any closer.

I looked up when Kisame reached in eagerly as the pot began to boil over, pouring two bowls for both Itachi and himself before setting the remaining soup to the side. I looked over wistfully as he dove into the thick looking substance, loudly slurping it up straight from the side of the bowl and into his mouth. I almost whimpered, looks like I wasn't getting any food.

Itachi, however, placed his own food to the side and poured a third heaped bowl, approaching with impressive grace to place it in front of me. We looked at one another for a moment as I regarded his blank look before cautiously unthreading my knees and reaching at to gingerly take the bowl in my hands. Itachi broke eye contact then and returned to his seat to eat his own meal.

Kisame was not a happy camper. "I was saving that for seconds." He practically whined to Itachi through loud slurps.

"It will benefit us in no way if she died before we can extract information." Was all Itachi said in return.

Tipping the steaming soup to my dry lips, I hesitantly tasted the liquid. It was bland, but at this point I was about ready to eat anything. If you could ignore Kisame's rather loud eating habits, the rest of the meal was consumed in relative silence. I finished the bowl quickly and set it down in front of me, gathering one of my two captors would come to clear it eventually.

I allowed myself to close my eyes briefly, thinking back on the events that lead me to become a prisoner to the Akatsuki, of all people. I was no closer to understanding what happened and I couldn't fathom any plausible explanation that didn't sound crazy. Would my mum be worried? If the time zones were the same here as opposed to the real world, I would have been due to return home from martial arts hours ago. What about my friends, would I ever see them again? Even the thought of returning to university seemed so painfully far away at this point. I wondered idly if I would ever get the chance to return home, to get married, fall in love, build a career and have children. I snapped my eyes open in an attempt to stop the reeling thoughts, staring straight into the dark eyes of Itachi.

It felt like ages as we looked at each other from across the camp, but after a beat he looked away again.

Letting out a shaky breath I hadn't even realised I had been holding, I decided it was now or never to set my plan into motion. Kisame would be the easiest.

"You know, Kisame." I began with a sly grin.

He didn't look at me.

"Kisame!"

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Kisameeeeee." I could do this _all_ day.

I didn't miss the heavy hunching of his shoulders or the slight twitch of his hand.

Deciding to amp it up a little, I sucked in. "KISAAAAAAAAAAAMMEEEEEEEE" I bellowed in a sing-song voice.

He snapped, whirling around to glare at me. "BE. QUIET." He grit out between his gnashing teeth before turning back around again.

I pouted. "But I have something _really _important to tell you!"

He lightly tilted his head in my direction, before seeming to catch himself and then stubbornly, he looked back towards the fire.

"Oh well, I guess you'll never know." I sighed dramatically.

Finally, he gave a loud and begrudging groan before twisting completely around to face me. "Fine," He bit out. "What?"

I let a huge grin slip onto my features. "You know earlier when I told you to get your hands off me, before I was _rudely _interrupted by that psycho over there?" I asked, nodding my head in Itachi's direction who, in no surprise, gave no reaction what so ever.

Kisame looked mildly interested now, raising an eyebrow and waiting for me to continue.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeell," I drew out slowly and leant forward slightly onto my hands in front of me, indicating that what I was about to say was deathly important.

He glowered at my prolonged explanation and leant forward a few centimetres himself, a genuinely curious expression in his eyes.

"Well," I repeated again, my grin broadening.

"…"

"I should have said flippers." I finished flatly, my grin dropping off my face completely as I let a serious expression take its place.

Kisame's brain didn't explode, but it was a close call. He bolted to his feet furiously, blue hands shaking at his side as he loudly began to charge in my direction, seething through his teeth.

"Kisame." Came Itachi's voice in warning, effectively causing his partner to halt halfway over.

Still shaking, Kisame grumbled, however before he even made a single move to turn and head back to his seat, I threw my own hands up in front of me in defence.

"Okay, okay. _Geez_, you're right, I'm sorry."

Kisame looked back at the sound of my apology, suspicion guarding his expression.

"I do see your point there, you're _not _a walrus." I paused for effect before continuing, "Fins, then. I dunno, is that more politically correct among you fish-people?"

Before I could anticipate, he was in front of me so fast I felt the wind surge around me before actually seeing the blue figure himself, Samehada drawn high above his head. He was seconds away from unleashing the weapon down on top of me before Itachi materialised, acting as the only object between myself and the shredding sword.

Damn they could move fast, although made no attempt to stop his partner's attack. Luckily, Kisame managed to stop his swing centimetres before Samehada split both Itachi and myself in two.

Itachi sent a threatening glare towards Kisame, who quickly withdrew his weapon.

"You will not harm her." It wasn't a question.

Kisame's face set in a deep and bitter frown, however I flashed a dazzling grin up at the menacing fish. Thank god for Itachi.

Kisame gave a low roar as Itachi continued, "After leader has finished with his interrogation and she is examined thoroughly for foreign chakra deposits, you may then do so."

My smile was wiped clean from my face as Kisame's lit up in a grin of his own at the thought of Itachi's words and after muttering something about scanning the area for enemy ninja, he stalked off into the forest.

Really though, I think he just needed a break from my taunting.

The minute his partner was out of sight, Itachi's head snapped over his shoulder to look at me.

"Do not test our limits. Akatsuki isn't famous for taking prisoners alive and although it would prove easier if you were, continue to cause problems and we will extract information by other means. Kisame and I still have final decision on whether you are worth bringing back for interrogation, do not forget that." He threatened coldly.

I couldn't help but smirk before he was in front of me in a flash, a kunai placed at the tip of my chin and forcing me to tilt my head up and away from its sharp point to look up at Itachi as he crouched before me.

"That was not a suggestion." He warned slowly, as if speaking to a child.

Gazing at each other for just a moment, my mouth fell open only slightly as I took him in. The anime _really _didn't do him any justice, he was ridiculously attractive. I had been in close proximity with him before, however this was the first time I had really taken much notice. As I looked over every detail of his face with wide eyes, he narrowed his own.

Taking my lack of response as silent understanding, he lowered the kunai and began to head back to his previous position.

Despite my fear, I couldn't help but grin. My plan was now set in motion – anger my two charming Akatsuki captors.

It sounded foolish, but I had come up with a plan, one that if timed right would work to my advantage. How did one anger two expert Akatsuki members, however? I admit it would take a few days to work, but my plan was simple.

The angrier they became, the less aware they would become. There was a reason ninja were always trying to suppress their emotions, angry people would slip up eventually and Akatsuki was no exception.

I didn't need much, just enough for them to make a mistake big enough to enable me some kind of escape route.

Kisame was easy to tick off, Itachi however was a different thing entirely. In fact, the most I had managed to get out of him so far was a slightly raised voice – even then it didn't sound much louder than normal – and a minor narrowing of his eyes as he sent an occasional threatening glare.

However, I thought with a grin, perhaps I just had to come at Itachi with a different approach. It was dangerous yes, but it was a risk I was willing to take if it meant freedom.

I was a medical student, for Christ's sake and despite my demeanour, proved to actually be quite intelligent when I wanted to be. Surely I could dig myself out of this hole.

The idea had first hit me earlier in the clearing with Hisashi, when Itachi had been so insistent on getting some kind of indication about how much information I knew. The question was, why?

Surely he couldn't be _that_ concerned about whether or not I leaked information out to other people about Akatsuki.

That's when I realised, nobody was really all that worried about anything becoming known, _unless_ they had a secret worth telling.

Then it dawned on me, along with a sinister grin. This was just too good, not only could I send Kisame into a rage, but If I could reveal just enough information about one Itachi Uchiha, perhaps that rage would be directed towards Itachi rather than myself.

I had to time it perfectly, if I revealed too much too soon I would be dead before the end of the night for sure. The trick was to slowly build until we were in visible distance of a town, so that when the time came and one of them finally explode I had somewhere to run.

So, what was the one thing that had always managed to affect the great Itachi Uchiha? _Sasuke_.

And what was the reason behind the one thing that Itachi had done that he wanted to keep locked away so that nobody else ever had the potential of finding out?

Noting Kisame still hadn't returned, I mentally prepared exactly what I was going to say to the Uchiha genius. Well, if he was so concerned with how much I knew, he was just about to find out exactly.

"Bloody hell you're a real psycho aren't you?" I questioned obnoxiously.

If Itachi was surprised that I had completely ignored his warning, he hid it well, not even sparing a glance in my direction.

"I mean, well I guess, you _did_ murder your whole entire clan didn't you?" I continued equally as loudly and again, received no response from Itachi as he began the process of cleaning through his weapons pouch.

"Although, wait, no. There _was_ one other Uchiha you left alive wasn't there? So that makes…two living Uchiha all up." Dumbly using my fingers to count, I tilted my head to the side.

If I hadn't been watching him closely, I would have missed his slight pause as he continued on with his cleaning.

"Hmmmmm, who was it again?" I made the effort of tapping my finger against my chin thoughtfully before clicking my fingers. "Hold up, hold up. I'm wrong again. Was it _just _one other Uchiha that's alive apart from you?" I asked stupidly, before following to hide any emotion from my face, looking squarely in his very direction.

"Or was it two?" I finished, dropping my voice into an almost whisper.

_Bingo_, I thought as he stopped what he was doing completely.

Slowly, he turned to look straight at me. It took all my effort not to waver as I looked back at him blankly, deadly serious.

His own blank face turned very dark, very quickly as he glowered at me with an incredibly dangerous look from across the camp site. What's that saying? Oh yeah, if Looks could kill I'd certainly be dead.

I had planned to make another comment, something that would simmer the situation down, but I couldn't bring myself to utter a single word _or_ look away from the menacing Uchiha.

I'd never thought I'd be one to ever say this, but thank god for Kisame strolling back in through the thick trees and into the campsite. Seeming oblivious to the surrounding situation, he walked straight through to his previous seat, which was conveniently smack bam in the middle of where Itachi and I had been looking. So instead of being pinned with the deadly look from Itachi, I was now staring straight at the back of Kisame.

**xXx**

After what only seemed to be an addition half an hour, I felt sleep tugging at the corner of my eyes as I continued to lean back against the large tree.

Itachi had moved back to his position opposite the fire a few moments after Kisame had re-entered the campsite. Looking at Itachi from the corner of my eye occasionally, I was relieved he hadn't sent even a single glance in my direction since the earlier incident. I did however notice the slight frown wrinkling his brow as he gazed steadily at the flames of the crackling fire.

Contemplating my chances of survival if I pressed further with Itachi tonight, I decided a little more couldn't hurt. I realised I was skating on very thin ice, but reasoning with the fact that Itachi really couldn't do much with Kisame in earshot, without the risk of letting his darkest secret slip, I finalised my decision. _Only a little more._

I coughed loudly.

As expected, Itachi continued ignoring me, however Kisame looked at me with a mixed expression of confusion and disgust.

After an estimated 30 seconds, I let out another rattling cough and received the same response from Kisame.

I let another 20 seconds go by before I repeated my coughing action, only this time louder and after doing exactly the same thing only 10 seconds later, Kisame looked at me sharply.

"If you need water, just _ask._" He hissed, slinging a water container over his head and towards the area I was still seated.

I didn't respond, but after another 10 seconds or so I let out another turbulent cough, sending Kisame into a small frenzy.

"WHAT!" He boomed, standing up to glare at me.

"What?" I questioned back quickly, innocently.

"What do you mean what? What the hell are you doing?"

"What do you mean what the hell am I doing? What the hell are _you_ doing?" I repeated, just as innocently.

Kisame squelched his fingers in anger and sodded off to pace angrily around the campfire. I smirked, even though he was still well within earshot, I gathered he was a little too distracted to pay much attention to what I was about to do.

Coughing lightly, I froze a little to test my theory. It worked, Kisame still appeared to be throwing his tantrum and Itachi simply continued observing the flames in quiet contemplation.

What I was about to do, however, would surely grab his attention.

"MA-" _Cough_. "DA-" _Cough_. "RA-." _Cough_.

Making sure I drew out each letter just enough so that Itachi would realise exactly what I had implied, but at the same time coughing just loudly enough so that Kisame would pass it off as another annoying coughing attack, my plan seemed to be successful as Kisame gave a slight wince each time I let out a cough and then continued on with his grumbling over to the side.

I kept my eyes trained ahead of me harmlessly, ignoring the fact that Itachi had now trained his eyes harshly towards me.

"Right! Everybody! I'm going to sleep!" I announced loudly, looking from Kisame who almost looked like he had just heard of a miracle, to Itachi. If I thought he was sending me a dark look before, the look I was now receiving from the eldest Uchiha was excruciating.

Dragging my eyes away quickly, I gently curled myself over and onto the ground, rolling so that my back was turned and listening closely as Kisame sat himself back down loudly next to the campfire, I allowed my eyes to close over.

I could _feel_ Itachi's eyes burning into me from behind as I feigned sleep. Even a genius of his calibre had to fail at some point. And when he did, I would use it to my complete advantage.

And thus, my plan was set into motion. All I had to do was stay alive long enough for it to work.


	4. Breaking and Entering

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter Four: Breaking and Entering**

I trudged along sluggishly behind the two Akatsuki members, concentrating solely on the task of putting one foot in front of the other as we trailed along the long and winding path.

The sky was a dark and miserable shade of grey, lightning rippling through the dull, open sky murderously. What could only be described as buckets and buckets of rain sloshed from the swollen clouds, hitting the earth like thousands of tiny bullets.

My bruised, bare feet squelched through the thick, muddy ground. My tattered, soppy shirt clinging to me uncomfortably as my heavy jeans chafed against my sensitive skin, my hair hanging limply in a long veil around me.

It had grown late into the afternoon and we had been travelling for most of the day, my eyes falling dark with the remnants of my restless sleep from the cold night before. I felt numb and cold, looking up at my captors bitterly as they glided effortlessly along in front of me, a little jealous of their warm, Akatsuki attire. _Stupid bastards._

Waking up this morning had been far from pleasant, when Kisame's giant foot nudged painfully into my back. After groaning loudly and inching myself further from his looming figure, he grabbed the back of my shirt, hauling me up suddenly to my feet and pushing me roughly in front of him.

After a mere two minutes, I had barely enough time to wake myself up before the campsite was cleared thoroughly and we continued our journey through the suffocating trees. I had been forced to walk, my bare feet cut and aching within the first hour of travel and my injuries steadily growing worse. On top of everything, I had gone the entire day without a speck of food or a drop of water, and watched now as Kisame pulled out a large portion of bread from a pouch slung around his right hip. Unravelling the cloth cover, he began munching greedily on the snack as my stomach growled painfully.

Estimating that it had been around five o'clock in the morning when I had been roughly forced to my feet, I gathered that it was now approaching close to five o'clock in the afternoon and I was beginning to feel the exhaustion and the hunger take their toll. I couldn't see Kisame sharing his meal with me anytime soon and Itachi had barely looked long enough in my direction to notice my weakened state, the tension still heavily set between us as with both ignored the elephant in the room after provoking him the night before. Much to Kisame's dismay, I had stuck to him like glue throughout the entire course of the day. As long as Kisame was around, Itachi really couldn't do much to question what I had said without giving his true intentions away to his partner.

I was surprised when I had been allowed to walk without being bound or gagged, although I guessed they simply figured I would sooner grow ears and a tail before actually being able to escape. I would have pointed out to the two that it was actually a rather large insult, if I hadn't been so happy at the time with the fact that I wouldn't have to spend another day thrown over Kisame's shoulder. However, as utter exhaustion finally seemed to get the best of me, I wobbled slightly before collapsing loudly on my hands and knees is the muddy sludge, my vision blurring.

Kisame and Itachi exchanged a brief look, before Kisame squelched his own way over to me.

"Get up." He ordered.

I tried, I really did, but no matter how much I willed myself to stand, my legs failed to move.

Kisame showed no sympathy, lifting me painfully by the arm he pushed me forward, only causing my knees to give out from under the sudden unexpected weight as I stumbled down in front of him. My breath came out in short rasps, my face felt like it was burning despite the fact that I was shivering from the cold. A fever? Just what I needed.

As Kisame's hand shot out to grab my arm for the second time, Itachi's own hand moved to stop his partner before he could haul me to my feet a second time.

"Continuing to travel through this storm would be foolish, we will stop for the night at the next town." Itachi stated quietly at Kisame's questioning look.

"We can travel in this weather fine enough!" Kisame protested over another clap of booming thunder.

"Problems would arise if she were to fall ill before reaching headquarters." Itachi replied reasonably as they both straightened their posture and looked down at my shaking form.

Kisame grumbled and continued on in front as Itachi knelt down, our eyes locking momentarily. I felt the tension increase ten-fold before he shifted his gaze and lifted me with great ease over his own shoulder.

We continued along the path for a good 40 minutes before I was suddenly placed gently to the ground at Itachi's side. When I gave a slight stagger, he held his arm out for me to steady myself against, only to have it stubbornly smacked away by my own hand. I ignored his look of warning and switched my gaze to the small town up ahead. My eyes lit up, I did not miss Itachi's narrowed glare as the three of us entered through the worn gates and walked slowly through the town's bustling centre as the citizens busied themselves with packing up their market stalls for the night.

I followed the two Akatsuki through the old, swinging doors of a two-story, wooden inn. The bright yellow paint folding against the corners of the building as it flaked and curled at the edges. Pink potted flowers were placed decoratively along the walkway that lead us through to the lobby and the dimly-lit inn emitted a quaint and homey feel, instantly easing my worried thoughts.

The stick-thin receptionist sat up higher in her chair as the three of us approached the desk steadily; flicking her long, honey-blonde hair behind her shoulder, her striking, cobalt gaze lingered on the eldest Uchiha with slight awe.

"We require a room." Itachi stated bluntly, to which I almost toppled over as I looked at him in bewilderment. If he was _trying_ to fit in amongst the civilian town, he was severely failing. That was not how you treated hotel receptionists, no matter how much they happened to be ogling.

She fumbled slightly as she checked the current hotel occupants in a tattered, black book. Casting her nervous glance back to Itachi she stuttered over her words. "O-oh, of course. Room 11 is available, it's right up the stairs. Let me get you your key."

As she hurriedly searched for the correct key, she looked back towards me. Then to Kisame. And back to me again.

Unfortunately, Kisame held a tight grip on my upper-arm as a precaution, in case I had decided to bolt along the streets of the busy town and cause them some much unwanted trouble.

"Oh! How cute, are you two here as a couple? We have a romantic special that you might be interested in taking a look at?" She beamed upon noticing.

I stared at her. "Excuse me?" I asked, blinking rapidly.

Kisame, on the other hand, almost hurled. "I would rather gouge my eyes out." He spat before snatching the key from the shocked receptionist and sulking his way up the flight of stairs.

Before Itachi and I could move to follow, the long-legged blonde turned her attention between both myself and the Uchiha. "I'm so sorry, is this your boyfriend then?" she questioned excitedly.

Itachi took the comment a whole of a hell lot better than Kisame, seeming to be unaffected by the receptionists intruding questions.

I, however, spluttered and found myself reaching out to steady myself against the desk, almost keeling over in shock.

I turned and gave an embarrassed glance towards the fellow lobby occupants, who began to grin between the two of us with knowing smiles.

"Ah, young love!" I thought I heard an older woman exclaim happily from the side.

As Itachi ignored the comment and turned to leave, I came to the sudden realisation that yes, _we were in a lobby full of civilians. _Might as well have some fun.

Before Itachi had the chance to move further towards the stairs, I opened my arms unnecessarily wide and gripped tightly around his waist, spinning us back around to face the delighted blonde.

"Oh yes! He is such a great boyfriend!" I practically squealed, resting my head against Itachi's chest and snuggling up against him.

As the two had taken their Akatsuki coats off before entering the vibrant town, I couldn't help but feel every muscle under his thin, black T-shirt as he tensed at the sudden, unwarranted physical contact. He snapped his head down to look at me, if he was capable of showing any normal emotion, a look of weary confusion would have been clearly visible in his narrowed, onyx eyes.

The receptionist looked completely over the moon at my public display of affection. "Oh, he's just so handsome too. You're such a lucky girl!" She said, flashing a dazzling smile full of perfectly straight teeth.

"_SO_ lucky!" I agreed, in the highest fan-girl voice I could bring myself to muster.

Itachi gave me a look of warning, to which I simply replied by grinning up at him goofily, my head still pressed firmly against his chest and my arms clinging around his middle like glue. Considering the circumstances, he was actually taking it relatively well. It's not like he could kill me in a room full of onlookers now though, could he?

"He's such a sweetie, taking me on this holiday. He's even promised to take me to a full-fledged ninja town! Actually, you might be able to help…" I continued to the receptionist, not missing the sharp look of suspicion form on the Uchiha's face.

Looking all the more eager to help, the stunning blonde leant forward in her chair.

"You see, we've never really had much interaction with any proper ninja before. Do you happen to know where the closest one is located?"

Itachi's hand flew up around my back to firmly take hold of my elbow. To anyone else it would have looked like he was slinging his arm around me affectionately. To me, however, it was a very clear warning. _Keep going, and I'll break your arm._

I couldn't stop the receptionist though, as she clasped her hands together happily, eyes glowing. "Oh yes, there's one only half an hour from here! It's a small one and acts more as a supply route than anything, but it's usually full to the brim with all sorts of ninjas! They act as more of a middle district between towns, but you can't miss it. Each cart they send out is even colour coded depending on which town the supplies are being shipped. So basically, you can get to any of the big ninja towns from there, really easily!"

I almost let out a laugh at how convenient this was, if it wasn't for the suddenly painful grip Itachi now had on my arm.

Before I could open my mouth and thank the giddy girl, Itachi removed his hand from my elbow and placed it firmly on the small on my back, moving me to the left and leading me towards the staircase.

"Okay, you two have fun now! Remember to pop back down to reception and I can get that romantic package all set up and ready to go, 'kay?" She called after us, sending a very suggestive wink in our direction.

I stumbled clumsily and would have fallen over my own feet if it hadn't been for Itachi's hand wrapping swiftly around my waist to steady me, holding me in place as he pushed me into the stairwell. The minute we were out of sight, I found myself shoved off the Uchiha so fast I had to steady myself against the wall, my arms detaching instantly from around his waist.

"Gah!" I turned on him. "What kind of boyfriend are you?" I questioned hotly.

His hand whipped out to grasp my chin as he tilted my face up to look him directly in the eyes. I tried to pull my jaw from his vice-like grip, but he only tightened his hand painfully. His face fell blank, but his voice held a promised threat if as he spoke slowly.

"Do that again, and you'll find yourself without an arm." He warned.

It was then I noticed a kunai placed at the junction of my elbow and forearm, pressing down against my soft skin. I froze, nodding slowly before he finally released me. Grabbing at the shirt from the top of my back this time, he led me up to door 11 and pushed me quickly inside.

I fell into a small, open living area with an even smaller adjoining kitchen. Faded, brown chairs were placed in a circle around a wobbly coffee table, a dated rug adding the only splash of colour to the otherwise plain walls of the apartment. A door to my left entered into an equally simple bedroom, the double spaced bed decorated in a dull, floral comforter and situated next to the large cream-coloured window.

An old oak door sitting to my right indicated a second bedroom. I pouted, I guess _one_ of us would be left to sleep on the couch and I had no qualms with fighting both Itachi _and_ Kisame for a bed if I had to.

**xXx**

Standing angrily in the middle of the apartment, I found myself left to my own devices.

The clock hanging crookedly on the kitchen wall indicated that it was roughly seven in the evening. I grumbled angrily and folded my arms.

Not more than 10 minutes prior had Itachi's head snapped to the right, seemingly staring with heightened alert through the far living room wall.

"Kisame." Was he needed to say before his partner snatched up Samehada.

"I sense it." Kisame responded, the same look of caution drawn upon his own features.

After a rather clear message from Kisame detailing what exactly they would do to me and every other civilian they came across in the process if I even set foot outside the apartment, the two left through the window swiftly in the direction of the forest on the other side of town. For two esteemed killers to have left their hostage alone, it must have been something serious.

Still, I wasn't exactly alone. I looked back into the Sharingan-bearing eyes of a black crow as it sat perched high on the kitchen counter, its eyes unnerving as it stared openly in my direction. I didn't have to even ask to know Itachi would have his own Sharingan activated, effectively being able to see anything the crow could. Basically, if I even made one move, he would be the first to know. The thought of escape hadn't crossed my mind however, finding myself still too far away from any ninja capable enough to help me against the two Akatsuki, while simultaneously worrying about the fate of the small, civilian town if I tried anything reckless.

I sighed, figuring this was probably going to be my only alone time for quite a while, and stood from my seat on the cushioned couch. At my sudden movement, the crow let out a sharp, piercing squall.

"Relax, Uchiha." I spoke to Itachi, rather than his crow. "I'm just taking a well-deserved shower. Keep your knickers on." I shot, wondering idly into the large bathroom through the bedroom to my right.

Relieved when the crow made no move to follow, I stripped myself out of my tattered clothes, letting them fall to the ground around my feet. I couldn't help but sigh in relief and relish the hot water as it fell against my cold skin, realising I hadn't actually had a shower in days.

With that in mind, I made sure to lather my body and face with the complimentary hotel gels and set to work on washing my hair thoroughly with the small bottle of apple-scented shampoo before running a dab of creamy conditioner through the ends, washing it out under the welcoming water.

I allowed myself an extra five minutes to enjoy the heavenly shower before forcing myself to switch the taps off and step out onto the plush, baby-blue bath mat. Rubbing myself dry with one of the neatly folded towels, I took full use of the large bottle of moisturiser sitting against the bathroom sink and applied it generously to the skin on my body and face before rolling on a small ounce of liquid deodorant. This inn had everything!

I shredded the complimentary comb from its plastic wrapper roughly and ran the object through my clean, warm-caramel brown locks, brushing through the long, damp hair and tucking the loose strands behind my ears.

I wasn't particularly thrilled with the thought of re-dressing in mud-caked clothes, so I wrapped the towel around my body and set to washing the material in a small tub to the left, making sure to squeeze copious amount of washing detergent in with the mix. I quickly ran the clothes through a stream of cold water to rinse them thoroughly and left them hanging on the towel racks to dry, before stepping back into the living room and coming face to face with the watchful eyes of Itachi's crow.

"I sincerely hope you're not a pervert." I said, picking up and flinging a cushion at the feathered bird, only to have it flutter around the room and land back on the kitchen bench as I took my own seat on the couch and waited for my clothing.

**XxX **

I only sat in my towel for a rough 30 minutes before slipping on my dry underwear and bra set. Realising the rest of my clothes would take forever to dry, I began rummaging through the small bag Itachi had been carrying. I did not want to risk the two coming back to find me in my underwear.

I managed to pull out a simple, black shirt and pulled it easily over my head. I gathered it was Itachi's, as it didn't swim on me like I expected Kisame's clothing would. Excuse the play on words, it had to be done.

Finding a pair of tight black pants, I concluded they were probably used for missions in a particularly cold climate and worn underneath the usual Akatsuki attire. I pulled them up my legs and found they fit comfortably, beginning at my hips and ending just below my knee-caps.

Feeling warm and replenished I strolled back into the living area, it was amazing what a long, hot shower could do. I made my way into the kitchen, trying my best to ignore the stupid crow when a loud knock at the door made be freeze.

I instantly whipped my eyes to the bird, its gaze trained on the door before it turned back to face me sharply.

"What? Forget your keys, Uchiha? Right, right I'll let you back in." I joked sarcastically as I straightened my posture and made a bee-line for the door.

The crow let out a loud squawk and I tilted my head to look back at it. I didn't think birds were capable of giving looks of alarm, but apparently I was wrong.

So if it wasn't the Akatsuki members…who was it? Ignoring the warning from the bird, I continued over to the door as another knock resounded through the apartment. The crow was in front of me in a flash. _Geez_, almost as quick as the actual Itachi.

I swatted the annoying thing away with the back of my hand and it landed back on the kitchen counter, glaring heavily.

"Don't look at me like that. You told me I couldn't go anywhere, it's your own fault for failing to outline what to do if _this_ situation arose. Besides, we've just check in, wouldn't it be obvious if nobody answered the door?" I reasoned with a grin, hoping that whoever it was could help me escape.

When the crow didn't respond, I marched over to the door and flung it open, flashing a dazzling grin that was wiped very quickly from my bronze face as I took in my visitors. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as alarm bells went off in my head. Maybe listening to Itachi's bird wouldn't have been such a terrible idea…

Four very large men scowled back at me, weapons slung in all directions around their shoulders and waist.

"Who the hell are you?!" The largest one asked rudely, jabbing a grubby finger in my direction.

I scowled. "Considering you're the ones knocking on _my _hotel room door, why don't you give answering your own question a go first?" I shot back, my bright eyes narrowing.

The man turned a deep shade of purple, however before he could explode in a fit of rage, a slightly smaller, slightly shorter man stepped in front of him smoothly.

"Ah," He said, looking at me with a fake grin plastered on his chubby face. "Please ignore my cousin, he's got a very quick tempter. My name is Jiro, it's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful looking woman in a town like this." He chimed, extending his hand for me to shake.

When I made no move to return the gesture, he continued evenly, his large smile still not quite reaching his eyes.

"As I was saying, I'm terribly sorry for our rude intrusion. Actually, we're looking for two friends of ours that we believe are staying in this _very_ inn. Perhaps you've seen them; they're really quite hard to miss." He drawled charmingly. "One is quite a tall, peculiar looking blue man and the other is significantly smaller in size, with black hair and dark eyes. Does any of this ring a bell?"

I couldn't help it when my eyes widened slightly and I took an involuntary step back. "Uh…no, I haven't seen anyone fitting that description sorry. Perhaps you should go back at wait for your friends at _reception_." I offered forcibly, turning to Itachi's crow and giving it a pointed look.

Jiro's large hand shot out and effectively stopped my movement as I began to pull the door shut. My eyes narrowed at him as he took a step forward.

"You see, I think you may be lying, so if it's all the same to you we'll just come in for a quick look around." He pressed the door back against my shaking hand as I attempted to keep the door from opening any further.

"I don't think-" I began, before he clicked his fingers and the two men to the side reached in swiftly and hauled me from the entrance, pushing me up against the wall on the side of the apartment door.

Jiro looked back at me. "Sorry dear, nothing personal. If she draws too much attention, you may use force." He finished, nodding to the two men whose hands now held each of my arms, before following his cousin into the apartment and disappearing from my line of site.

I thrashed against the two men's hold loudly as they pinned me up against the wall by my shoulders. They looked at one another as I let out a frustrated scream.

"Get the hell off me!" I managed to yell before the fist of the man to my left swung rapidly, snapping my head to the right painfully.

I gave a loud grunt of pain before turning my head back towards the two and slamming my feet repeatedly against the wall, yelling out again in an attempt to alert somebody, anybody, of the situation.

_Smack_.

I heard the sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh before my head was snapped to the left as the fist of the other man landed a punch directly to the opposite side of my face. This time, I noticed a small line of crimson spill from my mouth and drip down my chin.

I managed to turn my head back to my two attackers slowly, my vision blurring considerably as I looked up at them through my disarray of messy hair. I struggled, but successfully sent the two a murderous glare before letting out another piercing scream.

This time, a fist connected with my gut and I doubled over in pain, coming off the wall completely only to be held up by the grip of my two assailants when my feet dragged limply against the ground. A large spattering of blood hit the area in front of me with a splat as I let out a wheezing cough.

Suddenly, the grip against my arms vanished completely and I just managed to catch a glimpse of the two men as they hit the ground at my feet, blood gurgling from deep gashes in each of their throats.

With the support gone, I began to fall forward before a pair of familiar, pale hands clutched to each side of my ribcage, steadily placing me gently on my knees. My hands flew out in front of me to keep myself from falling forward, I shakily looked up into the furious eyes of Itachi.

"You know, usually your timing is excellent." I breathed unevenly and couldn't help but shoot him up a grin. "Although a little earlier this time would have been great." Was all I managed to get out before more of my blood stained the ground near my hands.

Itachi did not look one part amused as he stood up and entered through the door into the apartment. Vaguely, I noticed Kisame's presence as he swiftly passed through my line of vision. However, two thumps sounding from a couple more bodies hitting the ground heavily indicated that he was just a little too late to join the fight.

Kisame looked back down at me, not being able to help the wicked grin. "Run into a spot of trouble, did we?" He taunted haughtily.

It took some effort, but I managed to glare back at him fiercely. "You have your friends to thank for that." I shot back angrily.

Itachi stepped between us suddenly, looking straight to Kisame. "Gather our belongings, we will head to the next town before things get out of hand."

Kisame moved immediately, suddenly realising the urgency of the situation as their presence had obviously become known. Itachi edged his way towards me and I was thankful when he scooped me up bridal style, making the decision that my injuries were too severe to have me thrown over his shoulder again.

Within minutes we were speeding back up the hill and into the dark forest, Kisame leading our way as we made straight for the neighbouring village.

I couldn't stop my head as it lolled straight into Itachi's hard chest, barely aware of his eyes on me as I began to slip into unconsciousness.


	5. An Angry Uchiha

Thank you to the lovely people that reviewed. Thank you for waiting.

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

**Chapter Five: An Angry Uchiha **

The infringing scent of burning oil invaded my senses, rousing me suddenly. I snapped my eyes open and bolted up with a start, blinking rapidly against the blurred haze of my drowsy vision. Sluggishly, I spread my hands to the side, fanning them out against the soft, cushioned surface below as I tried to gauge my surroundings.

When my eyes did finally blur into focus, my anxious grip relaxed almost instantly on the forest-green blankets that were draped lightly over my slim figure, which was still clad in the comfortable clothes I had managed to steal from Itachi's backpack earlier.

The only available light filtered in sparsely from a small crack at the bottom of the bedroom door, but as my eyes adjusted I found that I was positioned in the very centre of a large bed, its dark, wooden frame curling towards the ceiling in a decorative swirl. The walls were coated in a bright lemon-yellow and the musk-coloured flowers hanging generously off the dresser to the side did little to mask the sharp odour of mechanical equipment, which seemed to waft heavily through the cream-coloured curtains shielding the window to my right.

I crinkled my nose and ripped the sheets back harshly, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I couldn't help but grimace, tasting the unfamiliar metallic tang of blood against the edge of my lips. Recalling the events from the previous hotel, it really wasn't surprising that my head felt like a ticking time-bomb. My face throbbed, my jaw ached and my stomach curled uneasily with a sickening pain.

Slowly, I padded my way weakly along the wooden floor and using my hand to part the delicate, silk curtains, I peered out the window curiously before flinching back almost seconds later.

A sudden onslaught of light flooded through the spacious room, indicating very painfully that it was at the very least midday. Still, I tilted my head back and let my stinging eyes slip shut, allowing myself a small moment of peace. The warm breeze tickled softly against the skin of my face and I managed to actually let myself feel slightly at ease. I guess they did often say, there was always a moment of calm before an upcoming storm.

After a brief minute, I begrudgingly forced my eyes open, finally focusing my attention towards the long and wide street that sat almost three stories below. Right, so hauling myself out the window to freedom obviously wasn't an option. Although, despite my initial impression of the stark-smelling area, the place did look quite inviting and I watched quietly as the lively villagers rumbled and rushed along the cramped strip, which was absolutely full to the brim with beaming civilians. The swarms of people didn't seem bothered by the crowd _or_ the smell, however, as they chattered along the bustling street calling warm and friendly greetings across to one another as the hurried by.

A startling glint that momentarily blinded my vision drew my eyes sharply to the reflecting forehead of a rather large, muscular man that happened to be passing right underneath my window. That's when I realised, we must have stopped at the next town, which coincidentally just so happened to be the very one that the receptionist at the previous hotel had described. I couldn't recall the name, but the multi-coloured carts being pulled along steadily were a dead giveaway - we were in the supply route, the middle district between villages.

I looked closely then, and sure enough the receptionist had been right on the mark, at least every third person proudly donned a ninja forehead protector, the different symbols marking which village held their allegiance.

I let a slow grin slip onto my features,_ this was my chance_. And it may very well be my one and only chance. I had to be careful though, Itachi would no doubt be on high alert now that we had been forced to re-locate to such an open village. After all, he _did_ hear me talking with the receptionist earlier, so he would probably be expecting some sort of escape plan on my part.

With that in mind and the lingering feeling that something was bound to go terribly wrong, I made my way across the room quickly and pressed my ear up against the intricately carved door. The dull hum of voices indicated very clearly that Itachi and Kisame occupied the very next room.

I closed my eyes and listened closely.

"You know how dangerous it is for us to be here, Itachi? This place is swarming with fucking ninja, and you don't think at least _one_ will recognise us? It's that woman's fault, if she had kept that god damn door shut…"

There was no indication of Itachi's reply and I heard Kisame growl in frustration before continuing. "There's no point keeping her around. I don't know why-"

"You know well why, Kisame." Itachi's smooth voice cut his partner off.

"She's obviously not a threat. You saw how she was with those men, pathetic."

"Her ability to defend herself is irrelevant, it's the extent of her knowledge that is most concerning. She knows a lot more than she is letting on-"

"And if that's the case then it's not going to take more than two seconds to kill her. Problem solved." I heard Kisame argue, biting out his words in an effort to stay even remotely calm.

"The point in keeping her alive is to find out exactly where and how she obtained her intel." And even though the thick wooden door, I could hear the slight irritation in the eldest Uchiha's voice.

Kisame must have picked up on Itachi's tone at the same time, because after heaving a rather large and unimpressed sigh, the blue-skinned man promptly kept his mouth shut and the apartment was eloped in a thick blanket of suffocating silence.

I pressed my forehead against the smooth, wooden door in an attempt to calm my erratically beating heart. I had to continue on with the plan, no matter how scary those two were. It was now, or it was never.

Assuming that someone, by some form of miracle, was on their way to rescue me would be incredibly stupid. That wasn't going to happen. The terrifying truth was, Akatsuki were incredibly dangerous and despite my previous doubts, very much real. My knowledge was a blatant threat to their entire organisation and the minute they found that simple fact out I would be killed on the spot by that crazy leader of theirs, who just so happened to be trying to take over the entire goddamn world. I had to think rationally, stay smart and take my escape into my own hands.

Taking a deep and shaky breathe, I grasped the brass handle and flung the heavy door open as hard as my muscles would allow, letting it swing back on its hinges and harshly slam against the wall – god, I really am turning into my mother.

Kisame whipped his head around, a look of surprise trained on his fish-like features at my sudden entrance. Itachi didn't move from his position on the lounge and although he kept his back turned, I didn't miss the slight tilt of his head in my direction.

Kisame's surprise quickly turned into a snarly grin at my obvious anger.

"Oh, look who's finally up. A couple of knocks and she's out for five hours eh?" He began tauntingly before setting his face in a solid, ugly frown. "You know how much trouble you've caused for us, you stupid girl?"

My hands clenched white and I quickly left my place by the doorway, marching my way noisily along the living room area, how dare those stupid Akatsuki kidnap _me_ and then put the blame on me for causing _them_ grief.

"My name isn't 'stupid girl', it's Samara" I ground out, stopping right in front of Kisame, whose face twisted in confusion. I rolled my eyes, trying to keep a check on my slowly rising temper. "Sa-ma-ra!" I spoke the name slowly, as if trying to explain something to an incredibly small child. What did they call a baby fish anyway?

Itachi's eyes flickered over to me for a brief moment, however Kisame was obviously still too busy trying to process my name to be able to notice my hand before it hit him square on his big, oversized head. Looking a little disgruntled at first, the fish-man let only half a second go by before letting out a booming growl, standing abruptly and effectively causing me to stumble back into the large but rickety coffee table. The poor thing didn't stand a chance and collapsed under the slightest pressure, causing a rather large vibration to ricochet from the thin, wooden ground where it had crumbled in a heap.

"You're really, _really_ going to regret doing that, girl."

Trying to ignore the fact that he _still_ didn't have the decency to call me by my name, I tried to maintain my resolve as I looked up at the menacing Kisame. He was at least three times my size.

_Keep going, you want him to get angry. You need him to._

Then, before I could think of something else to say, Kisame's own hand flew out and grabbed me up by the front of my shirt, causing my legs to kick around underneath me in a sudden panic. The harsh action jolted me suddenly, sending a sharp pain through my already injured ribs and before I could stop myself, I unleashed all my anger from the recent events out in one go. Letting out a long, frustrated scream, I set to work on digging my nails into Kisame's assaulting limb and kicked my legs out in an attempt to hit him where it really hurts.

I hadn't seen him do it, but I deduced that at some point during the ordeal Kisame must have picked up his weapon, because Samehada now loomed over my head dangerously, casting a rather large shadow in its wake.

"Kisame, enough." Itachi's voice sounded in warning and Kisame's face contorted in a deep frown, obviously having an internal battle as to whether he should cut me in two or not.

My tolerance level had pretty much hit the roof, however, and I let out a loud and bitter bark of a laugh. "What's the matter, fishboy? Lost your nerve, huh?"

That was all I had to say before Kisame well and truly lost control, throwing me back and over the broken coffee table roughly. How I managed to stay on my feet with the amount of force my legs had just endured was beyond me and I wobbled around rather ungracefully for a minute, maintaining my balance only just.

"Kisame!"

Despite the fact that the only thing I could see was Samehada being thrust towards me by a furious Kisame, his teeth gnashing and his face practically purple with rage, I couldn't help but notice that that was the first time I had ever heard Itachi raise his voice a great deal more than normal.

Suddenly, the Uchiha genius was in front of me in a sharp flash, only just being able to block Kisame's weapon. I stared wide eyed and shaking as Samehada sat centimetres from my face, blocked only by the small, metal object in Itachi's hand.

Despite the tone of his voice, Itachi managed to keep his face completely blank. Kisame, on the other hand, scrunched his own face in complete disbelief and disgust as his smaller partner thrust the kunai against Samehada with enough force to knock Kisame a couple of steps back.

The silence grew again, only broken by Kisame's ragged and furious breathing. I didn't dare make a sound, my eyes darting anxiously between the two ninja, finding it hard to breathe with the heavy tension setting itself uncomfortably into the atmosphere. If I had been smart, I would have slipped a side comment in about Itachi's real motives for killing his clan, or maybe even the entire Madara secret itself. You know what they say - go hard or go home.

Really, with Kisame already so worked up, it wouldn't have taken much to get him to fly right off the handle and demand some answers of his own, that would have _really_ put Itachi in some deep shit and maybe act as a big enough distraction to leave me some time to slip out the door unnoticed. Unfortunately, having one's head nearly decapitated from one's shoulders can sometimes lead to forgetfulness.

After what seemed like hours of deliberation on Kisame's part, he finally broke his stance, slinging Samehada back over his broad shoulders before turning to leave the apartment entirely.

Like a switch had been flicked, my mind seemed to click back into motion and sudden realisation hit me hard like a kick in the gut. Firstly, I had let my chance slip through my fingers so quickly and secondly, I hadn't been alone with Itachi since I had practically let some of his deepest and darkest secrets out at the campfire a couple of nights ago. I bit my lip, weighing my options before making a quick decision and attempting to move swiftly but casually past Itachi and in the direction of the retreating blue ninja. Itachi's hand flew out in front of me then, just skimming my collarbone and blocking my path completely.

"Wait up, I'll keep you company!" I tried to wave cheerfully after the blue man, wincing as I heard my weak voice crack nervously.

The look Kisame gave me was one of absolute incredulity and repugnance before he slammed the door shut loudly behind him, leaving me with only Itachi.

I could feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest and the painful chatter of teeth as my lower lip trembled unconsciously. The silence now was almost unbearable and I stood frozen, my eyes trained in front of me in horror. A bead of swear dripped agonisingly down my forehead, sliding along the curve of my jawbone before finally spilling off the tip of my chin.

Itachi, who still held his back to me, tilted his head slowly so that he could look down and over his shoulder at my terrified form. I slid my own, wide eyes to look up through my lashes in response and almost recoiled when I was met with the same blank, cold expression that the Uchiha genius was so prone to. There was something else there, though. I squinted, trying to put my finger on the exact expression that I could just vaguely see in the depths of his dark, onyx eyes and although I failed to come up with an answer, I knew immediately that there was no possible way this was going to have a happy ending.

We stared at one another for what seemed like forever, before I finally cracked and turned swiftly on my heel, making a dash for the open window. Three stories from the ground? Who bloody cares, it was in the opposite direction of Itachi and right now, that was more than okay with me. Before I had even made it relatively close to the opening however, my path to freedom was once again blocked as Itachi materialised about a metre or so in front of me. If he was surprised that I had tried to make a run for it, then he hid it well.

"Was your plan to jump from the window?"

Anyone else would have sounded like they were trying to mock whoever it was they were addressing, but Itachi's voice was so void of emotion it merely sounded like a legitimate question. Although I didn't miss the slight eyebrow raise and in response, my own brow furrowed, annoyed at the fact that he had actually made a pretty valid point.

Without warning (or so I thought), I did a complete 180 and made a straight beeline for the now free doorway that Kisame had exited through not long before. In a mere matter of seconds though, I was fighting against falling head over heels as I skidded to a sharp stop, now glaring at Itachi as he leant casually against the very same exit. The slight upturning of his lips to form a smirk irritated me more than I liked to admit and I let out a loud noise of frustration, spinning in the direction of the bedroom to the left. Realising mid-stride that it was, in fact, a dead end, only faltered me for a second. I just wanted to get away from Itachi before he went all psycho ninja on my ass, it didn't matter where I ended up. Maybe if I manage to make it through the door, I could block it off with something and climb out the window and up onto the roo-

He must have been getting impatient, because I had not even made it two steps before he appeared right in front of me. Again, I found myself frozen.

We were so close, we were touching.

"Now," Itachi began, his breath fanning lightly against the edge of my ear, causing my hair to tickle against the side of my face. "Are you going to talk?"

With him being a head or so taller, I found myself looking straight into his (rather well chiselled) chest. I bit my lip when my own breathing hitched and I fought the urge to sway against the sudden dizziness clouding my vision. I took a pretty lame stumble backwards in an attempt to create some distance, only to have Itachi take a measured step forward in retaliation.

I looked up then and shot him a harsh look, partly annoyed and partly confused, to which her merely narrowed his own eyes slightly. Chewing on the inside of my cheek nervously, I fought to find the right words to say in this situation. Itachi gazed down at me, seemingly patient enough to let me try and figure out some form of explanation as to how I knew his most well-kept secrets that would make even the slightest sense.

After another minute, I swear I felt a blood vessel pop with how hard my head was throbbing. Damn it, damn it, damn it. It was obvious I couldn't tell the truth, and the excuses my scrambled brain was throwing at me wouldn't have been good enough to convince even a 5 year old boy, let alone the great and oh-so-powerful Itachi Uchiha. Besides, letting too much information go in one drop without Kisame being, at the very least, within earshot, would definitely ruin my plan. What would Itachi do if I told him the truth? Kill me on the spot to prevent anyone else from ever finding out? Probably.

Relinquishing the hold I had on the inside of my cheek, I quickly looked back down from Itachi's onyx gaze, making one final decision – for now, I had to play it cool. There would be another time and place to let all the secrets out in the world so that it would work in my favour, but here and now definitely wasn't it.

"I don't know what you're talking abo-"

I didn't even get to finish my sentence before Itachi's hand flew out to grab my chin, holding it firmly between his thumb and forefinger knuckle and forcing me to look back up at his rather now ticked-off face.

"In case I wasn't clear enough with my words at the clearing, I will repeat myself once more so that you understand your predicament. It would be in your best interests for you to not continue this façade. Now, I suggest you start talking before I kill you myself."

If it wasn't for the partially narrowed eyes and the slightly more icy tone than usual, I wouldn't have been able to tell how angry Itachi was really becoming by my continued feigned ignorance. I realised with a gulp that, yes, even an Uchiha's patience can wear dangerously thin.

No matter how you looked at this, I was walking a pretty slippery slope here.

With a shaky sigh of defeat I gave a slow, cautious nod. "Okay." I breathed anxiously, trying to brace myself for whatever was about to happen.

Itachi looked at me expectantly, obviously waiting for me to continue, although the second the word of agreement had left my mouth, his grip loosened considerably on my chin so that instead it was left resting comfortably in his hand.

"F-for starters, let's just say…" my brow furrowed and my eyes looked anywhere but at the Uchiha himself. "Well, I guess you could say, I know you're not…that kind of a person. This isn't who you want to be. I mean, well, what I mean is, I know you're a good person."

It really wasn't much, but it was a start. Come on, you try and tell somebody that you knew every single little detail about them and that was actually because you were in-fact not from their world and that your worl-

Ah, forget it. We've had this conversation before.

Itachi seemed to consider me for a moment and I thought I saw his eyes widen slightly before they suddenly darkened dangerously, his tone become heavily laced with a thick warning. "I have killed countless people in my time, it would be unwise for you to think that I would not do it again."

Panicking only a little, I eyed his kunai pouch warily and racked my brain, trying to be as careful with my words as possible. Really, it was hard to think of anything other than 'like, basically, I know you're a good person because you didn't kill your clan of your own free will'. Somehow, I don't think that would go down too well.

"Well, you stopped those men from hurting me any further at the last hotel…" was the brilliant reply that I managed to splutter out, all a little too quickly for it to sound anywhere near truthful.

"That was a necessary course of action. It will do Akatsuki no good to have you beaten to death before extracting the information we need."

I frowned. "You're the one that made the decision to stop in the village in the first place, and only _because_ I was having trouble travelling in the storm."

"Do I need to repeat my motives for keeping your health adequate?" He was quickly becoming annoyed again.

"You carried me here yourself because I was injured. You didn't have to do that." I shot back, equally as annoyed.

He paused then, regarding me, his brow slightly creased. "How else do you suppose you would have made it here?"

"You could have thrown me over your shoulder." I didn't miss a beat, not giving him a chance to speak. "You could have had Kisame carry me. Or have me dragged. Or"

With almost desperate intent to prove me wrong, Itachi had a kunai against my throat so fast I didn't actually notice it until the metal dug painfully into my skin, only just managing to not break the surface. Suddenly, my blood began to boil and I snapped, swatting his hand away angrily at his poor attempts to change my thoughts. Did he think shoving a kunai in my face every five seconds was going to make be believe he was an evil, murdering criminal?

I mean, he _was_ actually a murdering criminal, but that wasn't his fault. Itachi didn't _choose_ this life, it was chosen for him. I stepped away from him clumsily, even just the simple thought of how out of control, how out of his own hands his life was made my scratch at my arms in frustration. The way it reminded me of my own life back in the real world was uncanny and I was almost caught with a sickening sense of déjà vu. Of course, the circumstances were exceedingly different, but it struck a chord.

Itachi took a step forward, however before he could advance any further, I gave a short but sharp shriek of frustration as the thoughts consumed me, causing me to pull at my own hair. Do you have any idea how hard it was to know something about somebody's future and not be able to help? I hated the feeling out of being so out of control. _I hated it._

"Good people are loyal to their village, Itachi. Good people follow orders. Good people are still good people, no matter what they're forced to do by others." My voice sounded uneven, croaky.

Now, that _really_ stopped the young Uchiha genius in his tracks. His eyes widened clearly this time as he tried to process my words. I knew before the words had even left my mouth that it wasn't the smartest thing I could have said, I wasn't supposed to let out that I had that kind of knowledge. A second later, my terrified thoughts were confirmed when Itachi had me slammed against the back wall of the living area, knocking over a number of chairs in the process.

Sharingan blazing, and kunai pressed so tightly against my neck that I found it hard to draw breathe, he all but seethed through his teeth. "How did you obtain this information?"

I didn't know Itachi Uchiha was capable of showing such emotion, apparently I was wrong.

I tried to answer his question, really I did, but my air supply was becoming dangerously low, so much so that I was starting to see black dots dancing around my vision. It was probably for the reason that I had barely any oxygen running to my brain, that I said the second stupid thing of the day. "I know you're a good person…" I choked out, trying to clutch at the hand that held the kunai against my neck. "But you made a mistake when you lied to Sasuke. If you're not careful-" I coughed. "If you're not careful-"

But my words were cut short again as I succumbed to a painful coughing fit, letting out choke after choke for air. Even though my hearing had become fuzzy, I'm pretty sure I actually heard Itachi snarl and could just make out as he opened his mouth to say something else (life threatening, I'm sure), when suddenly he dropped me to the floor with a thud. I gasped for precious air, letting in gulp after gulp as I clutched at my aching throat in confusion. Not more than a second later, however, the door to the hotel burst open and both our eyes turned to the source of the intrusion.

There, standing in all his blue, fish-like glory was a very en-raged looking Kisame. Clutching Samehada by his side, his eyes swept over the apartment, looking from the barrelled over chairs to my crumpled figure before finally landing on his much smaller partner.

"Mind telling me what the brat's talking about, Itachi?"


End file.
